EV battery market ‘worth $10bn in 2020’

The battery market for plug-in vehicles is forecast to rise to $10 billion (£7.5bn) by the end of the decade.

New research suggests the six large carmakers – Tesla, BYD, Volkswagen, General Motors, Renault-Nissan and BMW – will account for 90% of the battery demand.

Among battery makers, Panasonic is expected to keep its lead with 46% of the market share, followed by BYD, LG Chem and Samsung SDI.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) will account for 740,000 of 1.5 million plug-in vehicles, according to the report, with EVs accounting for more than 80% of the energy storage demand due to their larger battery packs.

Chris Robinson, Lux Research Associate and Lead Author of the report said: “Plug-in adoption is ultimately being fueled by rapidly decreasing battery costs and the success of early EVs such as Tesla’s Model S and Nissan’s Leaf, which has forced a number of other OEMs [Original Equipment Manufacturers] to make more serious commitments to developing plug-in vehicles.

“Consumers will soon be able to purchase electric vehicles with 200 miles of range for less than $40,000 (£30k), almost half the price of the long range EVs available today.”